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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — the fish
  5. firm — a company
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. key — in music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bass — low music
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. firm — steady
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. ground — a position
  16. rash — a series
  17. hand — help
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. pop — soda
  22. firm — decided
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ground — crushed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com